Former Man United player names 2 key players for FA Cup Final vs Manchester City

Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre believes the midfield battle will be key in the upcoming FA Cup Final against Manchester City.

United finished third in the Premier League, securing their place in the Champions League next term, and won the Carabao Cup back in February.

The chance for a domestic cup double will be on the minds of Erik ten Hag’s side but they will also surely be thinking about thwarting City’s chances of winning The Treble.

United’s rivals have already won the league title and are in both end-of-season finals. United cannot affect their Champions League final against Inter Milan but have the opportunity to protect their status as the only English club to win The Treble at Wembley this weekend.

Despite being the underdogs going into the final, Silvestre believes that United’s victory against The Citizens at the Theatre of Dreams in January should give them belief going into the clash.

“They did beat Man City at Old Trafford and Man United can take their belief from being able to actually beat them,” he told bettingexpert. “Man City can make mistakes if you force them to do it. They are not going to hand you the victory but they have to take advantage of the mistakes they will make.”

However, United will need to figure out the best way to approach the game. When they started slowly against Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad, City blew them away.

Silvestre has highlighted the midfield battle as key in United’s hopes to win the competition. In a counter-attacking set-up, the duo of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen will be crucial, according to the ex-defender, against City’s strong midfield.

“I don´t think that Man United should defend deep in the game as it’s not their strategy. Probably, Man City will have the ball the majority of the time but it’s not a problem if they are pressing the midfield and try to avoid De Bruyne to make the key passes,” he continued.

“Man United has to keep their shape and accept that they won’t have the ball all the time. The key for Man United will be to keep a clean sheet for as long as possible. Both Casemiro and Eriksen will be really important for Man United.

“The battle against Rodri and De Bruyne is massive as they have almost been controlling every single game.

“It’s very important for Man United to take control of the midfield even though it will be extremely tough. They have to limit the impact of Man City’s midfield.”

There is also a belief that Eriksen could be replaced in the pivot by Fred, who impressed against Fulham last weekend. The Danish midfielder could move higher up the pitch, however, with United missing Anthony Martial for the final and Antony’s fitness levels still unknown.